KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Last season, when his lineup got particularly eager to swing regardless of whether the opposing pitcher was offering strikes, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire lamented his hitters’ refusal to accept those balls and take first base.

With his batting order another year older (and peppered with a few more veteran bats), that 2009 penchant for free swinging hardly seems possible. This Twins team, after all, took an American League-leading 86 walks into Saturday’s game. That’s an average of just more than five walks per game to start the year, an average that puts the Twins on pace for a staggering 810 walks this season.

Every season since 2005, when the Twins walked 485 times, their walks have steadily increased. Last year they walked 100 times more than they did just four seasons prior. Since Gardenhire took over as manager in 2002, the Twins have never compiled more than the 585 free passes they took in 2009, when they ranked fourth in the AL in walks.

Friday, the Twins drove Gil Meche off the mound one out into the fourth inning, with his his pitch count already swelled to 84. It was a continuance of an early-season trend that Gardenhire said is simply a matter of experience.

“We’ve always talked about how many at-bats you need to start kind of figuring things out,” Gardenhire said. “We’ve got a bunch of guys getting there about the same time. … (They) understand when a guy is getting you out (outside) of the strike zone, if you continue swinging he’s going to continue to throw the ball out of the strike zone. I think we’ve seen a big difference this year when we quit swinging. If he’s not in the strike zone, we’re taking pitches, and ultimately the results are their pitcher has 100 pitches in five innings and he’s out of the ballgame.”

The Twins’ walking ways start from the top of the lineup and trickle down. Leadoff hitter Denard Span walked five times in a game this season, and No. 2 hitter Orlando Hudson once drew three walks in a game. Span said walking more isn’t something the team has ever addressed, but he certainly notices a change in the lineup’s approach.

“Even the guy that never walks, Delmon Young, has drawn a couple walks,” Span said of Young, who brought exactly two walks into Saturday’s game. “If they throw it over the plate we’re going to swing, but if not, we’re going to take pitches until we get what we want.”

Hughes moves up: Right away, Luke Hughes’ mother, awakened by a phone call at 4:45 a.m. at her home in Perth, Australia, assumed what any mother would.

“She asked was what wrong,” Hughes recounted. “I said, ‘Nothing,’ and then she proceeded to say, ‘Oh you’re going to the big leagues,’ because why else would I call at quarter past five in the morning?”

Hughes’ mother was right. The 25-year-old joined the Twins on Saturday, his first time in the big leagues finally coming eight seasons into his tenure with the organization. The winding path, Hughes admitted, has been difficult.

In 2006, Hughes batted .231 in 95 games with Class A Fort Myers. It was his fourth season in the Twins organization, and he still hadn’t made it beyond Class A. He went home to Perth that offseason wondering if he still wanted to play baseball. His parents talked him through his doubts, and he returned, only to be demoted from Class AAA to Class AA last season.

“There were times where I didn’t think I was going to get through it,” Hughes said. “The most satisfying thing was probably telling my parents and my sister. That was one of the greatest things I’ve had the opportunity to do.”

Immediately after getting word from her son, Hughes’ mom bought the MLB package so she could watch Twins games, and “his best mate,” as Hughes calls him, was organizing a spot for his buddies to watch games as well.

Next up for Hughes, after getting his big-league bearings, is getting his proud parents to the States to see him in a Twins uniform for the first time. Hughes said his mother and father are hoping to make the 30-hour trip as soon as possible.

Briefly: The Twins expect to hear the results of Nick Punto’s magnetic resonance imaging exam today or Monday, Gardenhire said while running through a list of injury updates. Catcher Jose Morales (wrist) had five at-bats in an extended spring training game Friday and reported no pain or soreness. The pain in Jose Mijares’ elbow has subsided, and the lefty is scheduled to resume throwing Monday. Clay Condrey, working back from an elbow strain, reported a pain-free arm after a minor setback earlier in the week. He was expected to resume throwing Saturday.

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